Yesterday at the Maximos Mansion, the alarm sounded due to developments where Kyriakos Mitsotakis convened the KYSEA to assess the the situation following Iran’s attack on Israel. However, today the government has returned to the European election with the presentation of New Democracy’s Euroballot this evening at the Athens Concert Hall.
The question these days is whether the imprisoned Freddie Beleri, from the Hymara will ultimately be a candidate. The case has turned into a roller-coaster of sorts with constant fluctuations. At the end of last week, it seemed that he would not be included in the ballot, but in the following days, proposals advocating for his inclusion in the list started gaining ground again.
Indeed, according to protothema.gr, on Saturday morning, Petros Beleris, son of the elected mayor of Hymarra, met with Minister of State Makis Voridis, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, and Prime Minister’s advisor Thanasis Nezi. However, the situation did not clarify in this contact either, although it is clear that there will be no prospect of candidacy for Freddie Beleris’ son.
According to same information Mr. Mitsotakis will state his decision to his close associates today. There will be no pending issue this afternoon at the presentation of the Euroballot. It is recalled that the Prime Minister has received two suggestions: to include Mr. Beleris, with the reasoning that he represents a large part of the “traditional” base of New Democracy, and on the other hand, his exclusion could turn a European issue. This has been expressed primarily by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specifically Giorgos Gerapetritis and Alexandra Papadopoulou. In any case, the difficulties for the Beleris are many.
Meleti as surprise candidate
The “last-minute surprise,” however, seems to be the case of journalist and Mega presenter Eleonora Meleti, who appears to have decided to try her luck on the Euroballot. Mrs. Meleti is said to have been approached months ago, but at that time the discussion did not progress further. Since then, things changed and Mega Chanel also informed her that her show would end prematurely on May 1st, due to the European elections.
According to information from protothema.gr, during the previous period, she was present at the Maximos Mansion and discussed her candidacy, with herself being considered a highly likeable personality based on her career in the media.
The puzzle comes full scale
New Democracy has so far announced 32 candidate names, with the latest being that of Giorgos Autias. The addition of Eleonora Meleti leaves 9 more pieces in the puzzle, and it remains to be seen if that of Mr. Belleris will be added. Otherwise, two more candidacies are expected from Thessaly, specifically, journalist Andreas Zaboukas who is from Karditsa, as well as from Theofilos Karachalias, president of the Medical School of Larissa. It is also expected that the former regional governor of Western Macedonia, Giorgos Dakis, will be a candidate.
